Solution:
Oh, we hate to tell you this, but the error message indicates your computer was infected with the infamous Sircam worm. Sircam does a number of nasty things, from e-mailing itself to everyone in your e-mail address book (attaching a random file to the message) to deleting your hard drive or filling it to capacity and slowing the computer to a crawl. The error message is saying that Windows is trying to load the virus but can't find the file, which means you likely have antivirus software installed on your computer that detected the worm and deleted it from your hard drive.
The fact that Windows is still trying to load the virus means your antivirus software deleted the worm but failed to update the Registry to take the virus out of the queue of programs that run automatically when Windows boots. To remove all traces of the worm, contact your antivirus software manufacturer for instructions or download a free utility from the Internet, such as Symantec's W32.Sircam.Worm@mm Removal Tool. Go to www.symantec.com/avcenter/tools, scroll down the Expanded Tools List until you get to w32.sircam .worm@mm, and click Removal Tool. Read the instructions carefully, printing them if possible so you can refer to them if something goes wrong.
We received several error message queries in the past few months that refer to Windows trying to load a strange EXE file, and most of these are indications that viruses were present. If you see Windows trying to load an EXE file that you do not remember installing, head to Symantec (www.sarc.com/avcenter) and check the lists of current virus threats and security updates. You can remove the viruses and worms that are most likely to affect you with a free utility available from this site, which means you don't have to invest in antivirus software to rid your computer of malicious programs. There's really no substitute for being proactive rather than reactive when it comes to viruses, though. We don't recommend that you rely on free Web tools. Get an antivirus utility, or the next virus you get might do enough damage that no software will be able to help.
Be sure to read the April 2002 issue of Smart Computing for more information. Our Focus On: Ultimate Utilities section will include a head-to-head review of leading antivirus software.
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